Amid a growing diplomatic crisis between the Gulf States and Qatar, US President Donald Trump tweeted on Tuesday that Middle Eastern leaders had "pointed to Qatar" as a main funder of "radical ideology."

"During my recent trip to the Middle East, I stated that there can no longer be funding of radical ideology," Trump tweeted. "Leaders pointed to Qatar."

Earlier on Tuesday, the Financial Times reported that Qatar had paid a ransom of $1.4 billion to al-Qaeda-linked forces in Syria to release members of its royal family kidnapped in Iraq. This, according to the report, was one of the main triggers for the decision by several Gulf States to cut off their ties with Qatar.

Among the countries that decided to cut off land, sea and air routes to Qatar are Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.